The Raveling Mantle & The Wandering Wood

Chapter 3

Into Goblin Territory

24

JUN/15

Our morning began at the ruined outer wall of the keep, where Lord Padraig was assessing the damage from the kobold attack. It didn’t look good. But, then, he noticed something: the door to Valthrun’s tower. He had completely forgotten about his court mage—he hadn’t seen him at all during the attack.

I managed to break the door open, after my stronger companions had failed. What we found at the top was disturbing: Valthrun was dead. Well, actually, he was murdered—several black feathered arrows were stuck in his brain-box. On his desk we found a dusty tome, which told of a nightmare realm. We also found a sheet of parchment, which had been partially translated from an ancient looking grey folio:

The guildmages sealed the tear with a powerful ritual, but there was no way to tell how long it would hold. The rift had to be guarded, in any case, from those who would seek to unravel the seal, agents of the dark gods hoping to unleash armies of undead, to make our world like the world of shadow. So, the Nerathi constructed a fortified keep above the rift. This was the beginning of the Gloomwatch, the order of knight defenders I joined in the winter of 331 CY.

It seems that Valthrun was studying the dark realms, and what’s more his digging up the past may have gotten him killed.

We are off now to the wooded hills north of Winterhaven, to the region we were told was goblin territory.